Life

Springtime for the soul

It doesn’t take much time for the signs of spring to appear. As the temperatures move above zero signs of life are everywhere. Green grass, buds on the trees, chirping birds, sprouting flowers and flowering shrubs all indicate that God’s springtime program is in high gear. Spring not only brings life to nature, it often breathes life into us. As the cloudy dormancy of winter is shaken off, the sunshine warms not only nature, but our own soul as well.

Observing the seasons of nature can be helpful in understanding the working of God in our own lives. As nature has seasons, our soul does as well. We have our winter times where signs of life with God are few and far between. Things seem stagnant and almost dead. Some people who have gone through prolonged times of soul winter have called their experience the “dark night of the soul.” It is an apt phrase that matches the winter season of the heart.

The great news is that springtime comes. Just as our winters come to an end, so to our soul winters have a limited duration. Just like in spring when we realize, that there are more hours of sunshine, so too there are in the springtime of our souls. We can see things a bit better; we feel an increasing sense of hopefulness and vitality.

To enjoy the beauty of spring in its fullness in our yards and gardens we not only observe the activity of God bringing things to life, but we do a little work ourselves. We get out the rakes, lawnmowers and trimmers and start to work. We scratch our lawns to remove the dead grass; we rake up last year’s leaves and clip the dead branches off of the shrubbery. We tidy things up, picking up garbage that may have blown in over the winter months. After spring cleanup is done, we are well placed the enjoy all the life God is stirring in nature.

This same principle works in our spiritual lives. As God stirs our hearts in new seasons of growth and hope, we have a part to play so that the fullness of what he is doing can be enjoyed. As we do a little spring cleanup in our soul we much more understand the beauty of what God is doing.

This cleanup of our soul will include at least one essential activity, forgiveness. The Bible instructs us to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31 NIV). There is nothing that causes deadness in our heart like an unforgiving spirit. In the winter times of our lives there are often relational breakdowns, people we work with, people in our family or in our circle of friends do things that are hurtful and irritating. These offences get stored in our memory and we may replay them in our minds like reruns of a movie. Not only do we replay them but we think of little ways to pay them back for the hurt they have caused us.

Unkind words, the cold shoulder, or telling other people about the faults of those who hurt us are ways we seek to make them pay for the wrongs they have done to us. Left unchecked this bitterness grows into rage and malice and we find ourselves doing hurtful and regretful things. The only way to be freed from these tormenting thoughts, negative behaviour patterns and destructive behaviours is to make the choice to forgive.

As the new life of God begins to show itself in the springtime of your soul, the green grass of his activity will be contrasted with the dead grass of the unforgiven acts that you have stored in your mind and heart. As these matters come to your attention, take the rake of forgiveness and remove them.

I realize that forgiveness is always easier said than done. The roots of the hurt grow deep and if we give them time they grow deeper still. Here are a few helpful ideas regarding forgiveness. First, clearly identify what the hurt is and the message that it sent you. For example, often behind someone’s unkind words is the message “I reject you.” It’s the message of rejection that hurts most and needs to be forgiven. Second, ask God for help, forgiveness often requires divine strength. Third, make the choice to release the person from the debt they owe you. Choose to keep from bringing the hurt to their attention and letting it control your thoughts. Fourth, repeat any of the above steps as often as needed. As you do your spring cleanup in your yard and garden, take time to clean the deadness from your soul.

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